Civil Rights group calls for special grand jury for Hampton cigarette operation

HAMPTON — A local civil rights group is asking a judge to appoint a special grand jury to investigate an undercover Hampton police cigarette operation.

The Coalition for Justice for Civil Rights filed a motion Tuesday in Hampton Circuit Court requesting that a special grand jury look into a police sting that saw more than $3 million pass through its private account. During the 19-month operation, not a single arrest was made.

Questions regarding spending by officers prompted an internal investigation of three officers involved with the sting.

"We want an independent investigation and that is not going to happen unless the court appoints a special grand jury to investigate ... the cigarette sting," said Rudy Langford, coalition president.

"The petitioner contends that the Police Division and City Manager … egregiously misused and misappropriated taxpayer monies in the operation of Blue Water Tobacco Company without the expressed permission of the City Council of Hampton, thereby committing a criminal act," the motion states.

Blue Water Tobacco was an undercover business started in July 2010 to crack down on illegal cigarette tax evasion, according to a Daily Press investigation. The more than $3 million that the company generated through its churning operation was not only spent on cigarettes. The money was also used to buy nine SUVs, to fund out-of-town training trips for officers and to purchase electronics.

"At no time did the Police Division of the City of Hampton provide revenue or expense reports to the City Council of the City of Hampton or citizens of Hampton," the motion states.

The city says that no Hampton tax dollars were used to fund the undercover operation.

In Virginia, a special grand jury can be comprised of seven to 11 people. If appointed by the court, the jurors present a report of their findings to a commonwealth's attorney, according to the online Handbook for Virginia Grand Jurors.

The commonwealth's attorney will decide if a criminal prosecution is necessary and present it to a grand jury.

In January Hampton Police Chief Charles "Chuck" Jordan asked state police to investigate misconduct issues in the department. The state police investigation looked at certain expenditures, but not all of them. No criminal charges resulted from the investigation.

There are currently three separate investigations in reference to the operation. One is an internal investigation of three Hampton police officers involved in the sting. In October, the city hired two firms to look into the operation: one will examine the transactions and another will look at the department's policy development, enforcement, oversight and management of the cigarette operation.

The motion states that the department's internal investigation presents a conflict of interests. Langford says he doesn't trust any of those investigations.

"The coalition feels very sure that the only way the citizens of Hampton will be sure of what happened is by having a special grand jury," Langford said.